Passive Optical Networking (PON) enables the shared use of fiber for services such as data, voice and video over most of the distance between a central office and service subscriber sites. PON is significantly less expensive to deploy and operate due to the to compact size and passive nature of much of the equipment comprised by the PON facilities. For example, a passive optical splitter that fans the fiber out to service subscribers in a PON is relatively small, uses no electronics and requires no power source.
Current and emerging PON solutions offer cost-effective, end-to-end solutions that are capable of delivering a combination of high-demand services. Specific examples of such current and emerging PON solutions include Broadband PON (BPON), Ethernet PON (EPON) and Gigabit PON (GPON). Examples of services that can be provided via such PON solutions include various types of telephony services, data transmission services and video services. Signals for such services are transported optically from the central office (CO) or headend (HE) to an optical-network termination unit (referred to herein as the ONT) at a service subscriber's site. The ONT is configured to provide optical network termination functionality and, in some implementations, to also provide conventional network interface device functionality.
Before a service subscriber can receive requested services via PON, an ONT must be installed at the service subscriber's site and requested services must be activated. The conventional approach for activating service for a particular service subscriber is performed in conjunction with installing the subscriber's ONT. A field technician, commonly referred to as a Craft, carries out physical installation of an ONT (e.g., a ONT having a particular serial number) at a new subscriber's site. After the ONT is installed, the Craft initiates communication with a service activator (i.e., a person) who performs activation of the subscriber's service, with the Craft providing manual provisioning assistance as needed at the subscriber site. Activating the PON services includes provisioning the requested services and associating the provisioned services with the ONT. Installing ONT's and activating services are components of managing subscriber services (e.g., telephony, video and/or data services) provided via a BPON.
One limitation of the conventional approach for facilitating activation of PON services is that it leaves the Craft with the responsibility of selecting the correct ONT to install. This responsibility often leads to an incorrect ONT (e.g., having an incorrect serial number) being installed during a particular visit to the subscriber site. Accordingly, a subsequent trip to the subscriber's site is required to install the correct ONT (e.g., an ONT having a serial number assigned by Element Management Software) or after the installed but presently incorrect ONT is associated with an information instantiation (e.g., database record, object, etc) associated with the subscriber. The need to make multiple trips to the subscriber's site is undesirable for both the subscriber and the service provider. The alternative to making multiple trips is for the Craft to wait at the subscriber's site until resources at the service provider's facilities resolve the situation. Waiting for such resolution is costly due to downtime of the Craft.
Another limitation of the conventional approach for managing subscriber services is that it is not scalable to large subscriber populations in an efficient and effective manner. Once the Craft has physically installed the correct ONT for a particular subscriber, the Craft must initiate communication between the service provider facility (e.g., a central office) and the ONT for verifying correct association between the provisioned services for the subscriber and the presence of the correct ONT. This requirement is cumbersome and inefficient in view of a large and growing subscriber population as is couples the provisioning process with the physical installation process. Furthermore, as the installation of an incorrect ONT is typically not recognized until this communication is initiated, valuable resource of the service subscriber (e.g., communication system usage, personnel time, etc) are wasted due to an incorrect ONT being installed.
Therefore, methods and equipment adapted for facilitating activation of PON services at subscriber sites in a manner that overcomes limitations associated with conventional approaches for facilitating activation of PON services at subscriber sites would be useful.